Nigella Lawson barred from entering the U.S. at London airport

Celebrity chef and cookbook author Nigella Lawson was barred from boarding a plane to Los Angeles at Heathrow airport in London.

Celebrity chef and cookbook author Nigella Lawson was barred from boarding a plane to Los Angeles at Heathrow airport in London. (Tina Fineberg / Special to The Times)

Jenn Harris

Celebrity cook Nigella Lawson was barred from boarding an LAX-bound plane at London's Heathrow airport over the weekend and it's still unclear why.

Lawson, one of the stars of the reality cooking show "The Taste," had admitted to using cocaine many years ago while testifying in December in the fraud trial of two of her former personal assistants. Lawson has traveled to the U.S. since the trial.

"There are several ways of legally traveling into the United States and Ms. Lawson has been invited to come to the embassy and apply for a visa for travel to the U.S.," a U.S. Embassy spokesperson told the AFP.

People applying for visas to the U.S. may be denied based on a drug-related criminal conviction, but Lawson was never charged.

Lawson admitted using cocaine with her late husband, John Diamond, who had terminal cancer at the time, and also during a difficult time with her second and now estranged husband, British businessman and art dealer Charles Saatchi.

"One time was when my husband knew his cancer was terminal, and he was introduced to it by a friend who thought it would help,'' said Lawson. "And I did on maybe six occasions and joined in with him — it was a small amount. It gave him an escape, but I didn't want an escape because I had to look after him and the children."

Lawson also made headlines last year during her very public split with Saatchi, when pictures were taken of Saatchi with his hands around her neck.